Our Manifesto

Sunday, 27 October 2013

It was great to see so many familiar faces
from local campaigns, and some new ones too, at the launch of Make Willesden
Green last Wednesday. The aim of the meeting was to present this new electoral
platform, collect ideas about where to focus our energies, and gather
support for the campaign. I think it’s fair to say we’re now airborne.

I opened with a few introductory remarks
about why I’m standing for the Council elections under the banner of Make
Willesden Green – how this initiative emerges from neighbourhood campaigns
around housing, education, public spaces and local democracy, and in response
to the the lack ofproper
representation from the mainstream parties.

Campaigners from Save the Queensbury, the
Gladstone Park Parent Action Group and Keep Willesden Green spoke passionately
about, among other things, the dangers ofdevelopers turning our neighbourhood into a dormitory town; Brent
Council’s dereliction of duty in standing up against the academisation of our
schools; and the increasing disparities between Wembley and the south of the
Borough.

People asked about my views on the Coalition’s
cuts and the Immigration Bill currently going through Parliament, as well as my
position on children with special educational needs in mainstream education (The
clip below captures my response to these questions). A very important point was
also raised about whether Make Willesden Green is a residents’ association or a
political party.I suppose the answer
is neither and both: we’re an electoral platform seeking to give political
weight to community campaigns.

Responses to our questionnaire on campaigning
priorities highlighted the need for more community and open spaces, housing,
education, High Street improvements and support for local business, as well as ‘tackling
developers’. All these chime with the core aims of Make Willesden Green.

Wednesday marked the beginning of what will be
a long and challenging effort to make Willesden Green’s campaigning voices heard at
the local elections. We now have a critical mass of supporters and will be
taking our message about affordable housing, state-funded schools, public
spaces and amenities, and a more democratic local politics across the whole of
our ward and beyond.

We’ll besetting up a stall next to
the Willesden Green Post Office on Saturday 9 November from 10.30am, to raise the
profile of our campaign and to hear residents’ views on your aspirations for
our neighbourhood. Please do come along to Make Willesden Green – you can stay
in touch with the campaign by signing up to our email list above.

Monday, 14 October 2013

Make Willesden Green is an independent,
grassroots campaign for next year’s Brent Council elections. It is independent
because it is not affiliated to any political party, and it is grassroots
because its support stems from local residents who have been active in various
local campaigns to save our schools, our libraries, our A&E departments and
our community pub.

The
‘Make’ in Willesden Green is all about emphasising the participation of
ordinary residents in the public life of our neighbourhood. There is plenty of
community activity in Willesden Green – some of it political; other less so.
But it tends to be ignored by Brent Council and by our elected officers.

Make Willesden Green was set up over the
summer by residents who feel unrepresented by local Councillors and mainstream
parties, and who want to redress this imbalance. Ouraim is to make connections between local campaigns like Save the
Queensbury, Save Gladstone Park School or Keep Willesden Green, and give them
an electoral voice at the Council elections next year. This electoral platform
emerges directly from the energies and ideas expressed around these campaigns,
but it does not claim their exclusive representation. Instead, Make Willesden
Green seeks to continue highlighting the democratic deficit in our Borough by
putting issues ofdemocracy,
equality, sustainability, the defence of public realm and public services at
the centre of the electoral campaign.

If you agree with most or even all of these
aims, I would very much welcome your participation at the launch of Make
Willesden Green on Wednesday 23 October
2013from 6-7pm at the Queensbury Deli, 68 Walm Lane, NW2
4RA (the tube station end of the High Road). You will hear brief statements from local campaigners explaining why they think we need Make
Willesden Green, and you will also get a chance to tell me, the candidate, what
you feel our campaigning priorities should be.

We
need to Make Willesden Green together.It will only work if it is powered through
the participation of local residents in whatever form you can offer: by
publicly endorsing the platform, by helping to canvass neighbours,
by offering to research policy ideas, by contributing funds, or
simply by spreading the word.